Burning Down the House.

• Author: Brown, Sarah
• Position: Book review

Burning Down the House

By Nell Bernstein

The New Press, June 3, 2014 256 pages; $27.95

"Burning Down the House: The End of Juvenile Prison" offers a raw, in-depth look into the world of America's juvenile prison system. In this expose, Nell Bernstein, a San Francisco journalist, takes the reader on an emotional, eye-opening journey through prison facilities riddled with abuse. Through the voices of the children behind the prison walls, she shares their heart-wrenching stories of pain and suffering, broken systems and unjust commitments.

Citing research and studies, Bernstein illustrates and concludes that incarcerating young people does not reduce future crimes and, instead, can further the trajectory of a young person's life into delinquency and eventually adult prison. But she doesn't stop there.

With the current shift in juvenile justice policy toward treating kids as kids and not as adults, Bernstein believes now is the time to make changes. She offers actions to remedy and reform the system, including the following:

* Listen to young people who have been in juvenile prison.

* Make positive relationships central to rehabilitation efforts.

* Intervene as early as possible with at-risk youth.

* Promote the use of community-based programs and services over juvenile prison.

* Increase the use of small, therapeutic...